Septic Pumping, Inspections and Repair in Pelham, NH

Permits

Septic permits and rules in Pelham

Pelham's Health Department handles septic: its Deputy Health Officer covers "sewage disposal system design, installation, and applications" and witnesses soil testing (Health Department). The Planning Department at 6 Village Green posts the permit forms, including a Septic System Application (Building Permits). The town posts its septic fees in the building permit fee schedule adopted February 10, 2026 and effective March 1, 2026 (fee schedule); check it, or call the department, for current amounts. NHDES approval is required as well, and zoning board cases cite NHDES approval numbers for individual systems.

Septic office

Health Department; permit forms from the Planning Department, 6 Village Green

Application

Septic System Application form from the Planning Department

Septic fees

Posted in the fee schedule effective March 1, 2026

Leachfield setbacks

50 ft from poorly drained soils; 75 ft from very poorly drained soils, ponds, streams and year-round brooks

New wells

75 ft from all septic tanks and leaching fields

Public sewer

None

Local setbacks and lot rules. Pelham's zoning ordinance, revised March 2026, says "Residential and commercial septic leachfields must be setback from wetland areas": 50 feet from poorly drained soils, 75 feet from very poorly drained soils and 75 feet from ponds, streams and year-round brooks (§307-41(A)). A new single-family lot needs 35,000 contiguous square feet of non-wetland area (55,000 for a two-family), and that area must include room for "both a primary and an alternate leach field location"; poorly drained soils don't count, and neither does land where ledge and bedrock aren't covered by at least four feet of existing soil (§307-13). In the Aquifer District, septage disposal sites and lagoons are prohibited and on-site systems must be placed to avoid or minimize groundwater contamination (§307-28, §307-33), and in flood hazard areas they must be located to avoid impairment during flooding (§307-47B). An accessory dwelling unit needs a sewage disposal approval application, but "Separate septic systems shall not be required" if the existing system is determined to be adequate (§307-19) (Zoning Ordinance, revised March 2026).

State rules. NHDES issues an Approval for Construction and, after inspection, an Approval for Operation (NHDES septic systems). Designs come from an NHDES-permitted designer, paid installers need an NHDES installer's permit (RSA 485-A:35; RSA 485-A:36), and adding load, such as bedrooms, means applying to NHDES first (RSA 485-A:38). New Hampshire has no general septic inspection when a home sells; on developed waterfront, where any part of the system is within 250 feet of the reference line, the buyer generally has a licensed septic system evaluator check it before transfer (RSA 485-A:39). Pumping should go to an NHDES-permitted septage hauler (Env-Wq 1600). Past approvals for a property are on NHDES OneStop, and excavation needs a Dig Safe notice at least 72 hours ahead, weekends and holidays excluded (Dig Safe).

Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by March 2027. New England Septic Pros is a referral service. We don't design, install or pump septic systems; your designer and installer handle the permits.

Water

Water Pelham protects

Long Pond. "Long Pond has experienced recurring cyanobacteria blooms." The town is developing a watershed management plan whose kickoff meeting was held September 23, 2026, and it lists septic systems among potential pollutant sources (Long Pond Watershed Management Plan). As of November 2026 the plan was still in development.

Ponds and aquifers. The 2023 Conservation Plan lists Gumpas Pond (89.9 acres), Harris Pond (45.7 acres), Little Island Pond (159.24 acres) and Long Pond (120.5 acres), which is on the EPA 303(d) list for phosphorus. It places much of the town's highest-yield aquifer in the Lower Beaver Brook watershed and till and bedrock aquifers of "fractured rock or ledge" that serve private wells, and ties the town's wetlands to "a localized higher water table" (2023 Conservation Plan). Septic setbacks from those ponds are 75 feet under town zoning; state shoreland setbacks run 75 to 125 feet depending on the soil (RSA 483-B:9).

Wetland Conservation District. The district covers wetlands of 2,000 square feet or more and all land within 50 feet of a wetland, perennial stream or water body, and "No building or structure may be located within a Wetland Conservation District area" (§307-37, §307-41B, Zoning Ordinance).